Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Attorney Docket No. J-3835
CONTAINER LID INFORMATION DIAL
FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE
[001 ] The present disclosure generally relates to storage containers, and
more
particularly, to a container lid information dial.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
[002] Reusable storage containers have been in use for many years and enable
consumers to store food products therein. Most currently available food
storage
containers do not include any indicator to enable the user to display
information about
a food that is stored in the container. For example, typical food storage
containers do
not have an indicator to mark the date when the food was placed in the
container.
Quite often, these containers are placed in the refrigerator or freezer
without any date
indicator at all. In the event that the food is not spoiled to the point that
it is visibly
noticeable to the consumer, there is a possibility that the consumer will eat
the spoiled
food and become sick.
[003] To display information on a container, various methods have been
devised.
One such method is the use of freezer tape, which is essentially a tape upon
which
notes and other indicia can be written. This tape is placed on the lid of the
food
storage container and information about the food is written on the tape.
Another
method consists of providing date information on a container by using arms
reminiscent of a clock. Numerous other devices have been attempted for display
of
information on a container, such as the use of dimples or deformable surfaces
for
indicating the contents of disposable, fast food beverage containers.
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[004] The above-described prior art methods typically have an information
display
device that is either manufactured with the lid or permanently attached to the
lid.
Accordingly, the information on the information display device cannot be
easily
changed or updated with different or new information that corresponds with a
change
in the contents of a container for which the lid is used.
[005] Thus, there is a need for an information display device that is simple
to
manufacture, can be updated or changed depending on the contents of the
container
for which the lid is used, and can be provided to a consumer depending on the
needs
of the consumer regarding a particular use of a lid on which the information
display
device will be used.
SUMMARY
[006] In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a container lid
includes a
recess, a dial and a pointer. The dial is rotatably housed in the recess and
includes a
handle pivotable between a stowed position folded into a plane of the dial and
an
operative position pivoted away from the plane of the dial. The pointer
provides a
position of the dial in the recess.
[007] In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a kit includes
packaging
material comprising an information dial, and a container lid having a recess
sized to
receive the information dial.
[008] In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method of
indicating
information pertaining to the contents of a container includes removing an
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Attorney Docket No. J-3835
information dial from packaging material, and mounting the information dial in
a
recess in a lid of the container.
[009] These and other aspects and features of the disclosure will be more
readily
understood upon reading the following detailed description when taken in
conjunction
with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a container with a lid and a
dial
constructed in accordance with the teachings of a first example of the present
disclosure.
[0011 ] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a container with a lid and a
dial
constructed in accordance with the teachings of a second example of the
present
disclosure.
[0012] FIG. 3 is a side perspective view of a dial constructed in accordance
with the
teachings of the present disclosure.
[0013] FIG. 4 is a top view of a dial constructed in accordance with the
teachings of
the present disclosure.
[0014] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a food package having a dial
incorporated
integrally therein in accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure.
[0015] While the following disclosure is susceptible to various modifications
and
alternative constructions, certain illustrative embodiments thereof have been
shown in
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Attorney Docket No. J-3835
the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood,
however,
that there is no intention to limit the disclosure to the specific forms
disclosed, but on
the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative
constructions and
equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defines
by the
appended claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a container lid 20 with a dia122
constructed in
accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure is generally shown.
The
container lid 20 may be any size or shape to cover a correspondingly shaped
container
24. The container lid 20 includes a recess 26 that rotatably houses the dial
22. The
dial 22 includes a handle 34 that is pivotable between a stowed position
folded into an
upper surface 32 of the dial 22 and an operative position pivoted away from
the upper
surface 32 of the dial 22. In a first disclosed example, as shown in FIG. 7,
the dial 22
includes information displayed thereon, while the lid 20 includes a pointer 28
that
generally points toward the recess 26. To point to a particular information on
the dial
22, the dial 22 can be rotated until the pointer 28 generally points to the
particular
information on the dial 22. In a second disclosed example, as shown in FIG. 2,
the lid
includes information displayed thereon around the recess 26, while the dial 22
includes a pointer 30 that points radially outward. To point to a particular
information
20 on the lid 20, the dial 22 can be rotated until the pointer 30 generally
points to the
particular information on the lid 20.
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[0017] Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the dial 22 may be generally circular and
include a
handle 34 that transversely projects from an upper surface 32 of the dial 22.
The dial
22 may be constructed from metal, plastic, paper products, wood products, or
any
other natural or artificial materials. The handle 34 may be constructed from
the same
material as the dial 22 or a different material. Also, the handle 34 may be an
independent structure that is attached to the dial 22 or an integral part of
the dia122.
As will become apparent from the following disclosed examples, however, the
dial 22
and the handle 34 may be advantageously constructed from a cardboard material
that
is typically used for retail packaging of food products. Additionally, the
handle 34 is
formed from a portion of the dia122.
[0018] In the disclosed examples, the dial 22 includes a generally semi-
circular
perforated portion 36, the ends of which are connected by a line 38 that is
scored on
the dia122. The generally semi-circular perforated portion 36 can be separated
and
pulled away from the upper surface 32 of the dial 22. The pulling causes the
semi-
circular perforated portion 36 to bend along the score line 38 to form the
handle 34.
Accordingly, the handle 34 is generally semi-circular and transversely
oriented
relative to the upper surface 32 of the dial 22. Therefore, the handle 34 can
pivot
between a stowed position folded into the upper surface 32 of the dia122 and
an
operative position pivoted away from the upper surface 32 of the dial 22.
[0019] When the handle 34 is formed as described above, the natural resilience
of the
cardboard material of the dial 22 may cause the handle 34 to partially return
toward
the upper surface 32 of the dia122. The ability of the handle 34 to bend along
the
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score line 38 allows the handle 34 to partially return to a position planar
with the
upper surface of the dial 22, i.e., the original position of the handle 22.
For a
container 24 with a shallow recess 26, returning of the handle 34 to its
original
position may be necessary if the handle 34 should not project outside the
recess 26 to
facilitate the stacking of one container 24 on top of another. However,
regardless of
the position of the handle 34 relative to the dial 22, a user can at any time
grab the
handle 34, bend it along the score line 38 to a desired position, and rotate
the dial 22.
[0020] As described in the foregoing, the dial 22 can be constructed from
material
other than cardboard. The dial 22 may be constructed with a material that is
either
rigid and non-flexible, or more flexible that the cardboard dial 22 of the
disclosed
examples. For example, the dial 22 can be constructed from a thin aluminum
sheet so
that when the semi-circular perforated portion 36 is pulled away from the
upper
surface 32 of the dial 22, the handle 34 rigidly forms without partially
returning
toward the upper surface 32. In contrast, the dial 22 can be constructed from
a highly
flexible plastic material so that the semi-circular perforated portion 36 has
to be pulled
away from the upper surface 32 and held in an upright position during each use
of the
handle 34.
[0021] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the recess 26 may be generally circular and
positioned on an outer side 33 of the lid 20. The outer side 33 of the lid 20
is the side
of the lid 20 that faces outward when the lid 20 is placed on the container 24
to cover
the contents of the container 24. Although one recess 26 is described herein,
one of
ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the lid 20 can include
more than
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one recess 26. The recess 26 may include two or more tabs 35 that prevent the
dial 22
from being easily removed from the recess 26. For a shallow recess 26 that may
have
a depth that is slightly larger than the thickness of the dia122, the tabs 35
may be
positioned on the lid 20 around the recess 26 so that portions thereof project
into the
recess 26. Although the recess 26 of FIG. 2 is not shown as having the noted
shallow
recess, the tabs 35 are shown as being positioned on the lid 20 as described.
As
shown in FIG. 1, for a deep recess 26, the tabs 35 may be positioned on the
recess
wal136 such that all or portions of the tabs 35 generally project toward the
center of
the recess 26. One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that
the tabs 35
constructively reduce the diameter of the recess 26 where they are positioned
to a
diameter that is below the diameter of the dial 22. Accordingly, the tabs 35
contact
the upper surface 32 of the dial 22 when the dial 22 is being removed from the
recess
26, thereby blocking the removal of the dial 22. The tabs 35 may be flexible
so that
the dial 22 can be removed from the recess 26 when pulled outwardly from the
recess
26 with sufficient force. The flexibility of the tabs 35 also allows the dial
22 to be
inserted in the recess 26 when pushed in the recess 26 with sufficient force.
From the
foregoing examples of the tabs 35, one of ordinary skill in the art will
appreciate that
other structures that substantially restrict movement of the dial 22 out of
the recess 26
are similarly applicable to the lid 20. For example, the recess wall 36 may
include a
circumferential lip (not shown) that restricts the movement of the dial 22
outwardly
from the recess 26.
[0022] A user can grab the handle 34 and rotate the dia122 to a desired
position. To
maintain the dial 22 at the desired position in the recess 26, i.e., prevent
free rotation
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Attorney Docket No. J-3835
of the dia122, all or portions of a perimeter edge 23 of the dia122
frictionally contact
the recess wal136. Alternately, an underside 42 of the dial 22 can
frictionally engage
a bottom surface (not shown) of the recess 26 to prevent free rotation of the
dial 22 in
the recess 26. Accordingly, any one of the perimeter edge 23 of the dial 22,
the
underside 42 of the dial 22, the bottom surface (not shown) of the recess 26,
the recess
wall 36, or various combinations thereof may be rough to provide enough
frictional
engagement to prevent free rotation of the dial 22. The noted frictional
engagement
may be provided with a plurality of small ribs, surface irregularities,
dimples,
projections, or other texture structures that are well known to those of
ordinary skill in
the art.
[0023] In the first disclosed example as shown in FIG. 1, the dial 22 can
include a
variety of information thereon that relate to items being stored in the
container 24 for
which the lid 20 and the dial 22 are used. The information on the dial 22 may
include,
but is not limited to, a listing of time increments, such as minutes or hours,
a listing of
date increments, such as days or months, a listing of various types of food
products
that may be stored in the container 24, or recipe information for the food
products that
may be stored in the container 24. In the disclosed examples, the dial 22 is
shown and
described as having date information in daily or monthly increments. However,
one
of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate the versatility of the
dial 22 in
providing numerous user selectable information.
[0024] In the first disclosed example as shown in FIG. 1, the lid can include
the
pointer 28. The pointer 28 may be an integral part of the lid 20. For example,
the
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pointer 28 may be stamped, embossed on the lid 22, or formed when shaping the
lid
20 during manufacture. The pointer 28 may also be adhesively attached to the
lid 20.
The pointer 28 is shown in FIG. 1 to be shaped like an arrow. The pointer 28,
however, may simply be a line, a notch on the lid 20, or any other shape that
conveys
to a user a general direction to which the pointer 28 points. A user can
rotate the dial
22 so that a desired information shown on the dial 22 is generally aligned
with the
pointer 28. The information being pointed to by the pointer 28 conveys to a
user
certain information about the contents of the container 24. For example, if
the dia122
includes the days of the week displayed thereon, a user can rotate the dial 22
so that
the pointer 28 generally points to a particular day. The particular day may
represent
the day when a food item was placed in the container 24 for storage.
Accordingly, a
user can look at the dia122 at any time subsequent to the day pointed to by
the pointer
28 and determine the number of days that the food in the container 24 has been
stored.
The length of time by which a food product has been stored may indicate the
freshness
of the food product. In another example, the dial 22 can include information
that
conveys the amount of food that is remaining in the container 24. Every time a
user
removes a portion of the food from the container 24, he or she can rotate the
dial 22 so
that the pointer 28 generally points to the amount of food that is remaining
in the
container 24. Accordingly, the user can determine the approximate amount of
food
remaining in the container 24 at any time without having to remove the lid 20.
[0025] In the second disclosed example, as shown in FIG. 2, the lid 24
includes
information while the pointer 30 is on the dia122. The information on the lid
24 may
be concentrically arranged in close proximity to the recess 26 so as to
provide display
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uniformity with the generally circular shape of the dia122 and the recess 26.
The dial
22 includes the pointer 30 that radially points outward from the recess 26.
The pointer
30 maybe displayed on the dial 22. Alternately, as shown in FIG. 2, the
pointer 30
may be formed by a cutout portion 61 of the dial 22. The cutout portion 61 may
include a riser 63 that perpendicularly projects from the dial 22 above the
outer side
33 of the lid 20, and an indicator 65 that points to the information on the
lid 20. The
information on the lid 20 may include, but is not limited to, a listing of
time
increments, such as minutes or hours, a listing of date increments, such as
days or
months, a listing of various types of food products that may be stored in the
container
24, or recipe information for the food products that may be stored in the
container 24.
[0026] In the second disclosed example, a user can rotate the dial 22 so that
the
pointer 30 is generally aligned with a desired information on the lid 20. The
information being generally pointed to by the pointer 30 conveys to a user
certain
information about the contents of the container 24 for which the lid 20 and
the dial 22
are used. For example, if the lid 20 includes the days of the week displayed
thereon, a
user can rotate the dial 22 so that the pointer 30 generally points a
particular day. The
particular day may represent the day when a food item was placed in the
container 24
for storage. Accordingly, a user can look at the lid 20 at any time subsequent
to the
day pointed to by the pointer 30 and determine the number of days that the
food in the
container 24 has been stored. The length of time by which a food product has
been
stored may indicate the freshness of the food product. In another example, the
lid 20
can include information that conveys the amount of food that is remaining in
the
container 24. Every time a user removes a portion of the food from the
container 24,
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he or she can rotate the dia122 so that the pointer 30 generally points to the
amount of
food that is remaining in the container 24. Accordingly, the user can
determine the
approximate amount of food remaining in the container 24 at any time without
having
to remove the lid 20.
[0027] One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate numerous methods by
which
one or more dials 22 can be provided to consumers for use with containers 24
having
corresponding lids 20. For example, when a user purchases a container 24 and a
corresponding lid 20 that includes a recess 26, one or more dials 24 can be
provided
with the lid 20. For example, one or more dials 22 may be provided with the
package
in which the lid 20 is sold. The dial 22 may be cut out of the package by a
user for
use with the lid 20. If more than one dial 22 is provided, each dial may
include
different information thereon so that a user can use the dials 22 for
different functions.
Additionally, because the dial 22 is provided with the container 24 and lid
20, and not
with a particular food item that a consumer may store in the container 24, the
dial 22
may include generic information that is applicable to any food product. For
example,
a dial 22 having general date information displayed thereon can be used with
any food
product.
[0028] In the disclosed examples, a food product's package can include a
dia122
having information displayed thereon related to the food product. The dial 22
may
include information that is not specific to the food product, such as date
information,
or information that is specific to the food product. The dial 22 can be
included inside
the food product's package. Accordingly, a consumer can remove the dial from
the
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package and use the dial 22 in a lid 20 that will be used on a container 24 in
which the
food will be stored. Additionally, the consumer can be provided a several
dials 22
that are part of a piece of cardboard (not shown). The perimeter of each
dia122 on the
piece of cardboard is perforated so as to provide removal thereof from the
piece of
cardboard. In the disclosed examples, however, the dia122 is an integral part
of the
food product's package and constructed from the same material as the package.
[0029] Referring to FIG. 5, a food product package 50 in the shape of a
rectangular
box is shown. The dia122 is shown to be an integral part of one of the panels
52 of
the package 50. When the package is manufactured, the printing of information
on
the package can include printing of the information to be displayed on the
dial 22.
Additionally, during manufacturing of the package, a perimeter of the portion
of the
pane152 that represents the dial 22 can be perforated as to provide easy
removal of the
dial 22 from the package 50. Therefore, each time a consumer buys a food
product,
the package 50 can include a dial 22 having information thereon that is either
specific
to the food product, or generic. The consumer can then use the dial 22 of the
package
50 with an existing lid 20 and container 24 combination.
[0030] In yet another example, a consumer can be provided with a dial 22 that
does
not include any display of information, i.e., a blank dial 22. However, the
consumer
can then be provided with a variety of ring shaped information stickers that
can be
placed on the dia122. Accordingly, the consumer can place the stickers on any
blank dials 22. Additionally, the consumer can place the stickers in an
overlapping
manner on dials 22 that already have information thereon from pervious use.
The
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stickers 67 can be provided with the food product package 50, sold with
containers 24
and corresponding lids 20 or sold separately.
[0031] In yet another example, dials 22 may be provided that only have
ornamental
features. A dial 22 can include colors, graphics, pictures, text, or the like
that convey
to the consumer a particular festivity. For example, the colors and graphics
on a dial
22 can be related to Halloween, Christmas, or other unique festivities.
Accordingly, a
consumer can place a dia122 on the lid 20 during a festivity that is the theme
of the
dia122. The dia122 can indicate, for example, that the container 24 on which
the dial
22 is used contains food items related to the particular festivity.
[0032] Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that, although the
teachings
of the invention have been illustrated in connection with certain embodiments,
there is
no intent to limit the invention to such embodiments. On the contrary, the
intention of
this application is to lid all modifications and embodiments fairly falling
within the
scope of the teachings of the invention.
